A recent article published by Pitchfork has revealed that podcaster Joe Rogan’s exclusive content deal with streaming giant Spotify is worth $200 million. This is double than what was originally reported by Spotify, who claimed Rogan’s deal paid him $100 million. Sources with inside information on the deal revealed to The New York Times its actual value, a story that has since been backed up by a former Spotify employee.
Rogan’s deal to make his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience exclusive to Spotify is one of many similar deals that the streaming platform has made with content creators lately. Beginning in 2019, Spotify began to place greater emphasis on its podcasts and exclusive content. Other content creators with whom Spotify has partnered include Meghan and Harry, Duchess and Duke of Sussex.
Meanwhile, Spotify has been in the midst of a major controversy surrounding Rogan and The Joe Rogan Experience, after an episode of the podcast that spread apparent misinformation about the Covid-19 pandemic was made available to stream and not immediately taken down despite violating Spotify’s terms and conditions of use. Other episodes of Rogan’s show meanwhile have been called to question for using racially insensitive language and overt racial slurs. Spotify’s continued support of Rogan has led to a massive boycott, spearheaded by rock icon Neil Young who had all his music removed from the service.
In response, Spotify has since included an advisory tag to podcast and audio content that openly discuss the Covid-19 pandemic, while Spotify CEO Daniel Ek claims to condemn Rogan’s racist comments but does not believe that “silencing Rogan is the answer”. Several episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience have since been taken down.
